Carbodies CR6

The Carbodies CR6, short for City Rover 6, was an experimental London taxicab that Carbodies of Coventry developed to replace the long-running Austin FX4. Three experimental prototypes were built using the FX5 chassis, Rover SD-1 running gear, a Land Rover diesel engine and a modified Range Rover body. It was planned for introduction in 1984, but ever increasing development costs meant it was never produced, and the project was abandoned after almost five years of development. Carbodies then chose to develop the FX4 further instead, and that evolution became the LTI Fairway. The CR6 shows how a small coachbuilder tried and failed to replace its own long-running cab with a design built on another maker's bodyshell.